Croxteth Community Primary School Nursery Review

Paint splatters, colour mixing and Leaf People give Croxteth’s nursery curriculum a practical, creative character. Children experiment with marks before developing drawings that represent their ideas. This is the school’s own nursery provision, based at Moss Way in Croxteth, Liverpool, within a primary school whose age range begins at three.

Ofsted judged the school’s early years provision Good following the inspection on 20 and 21 June 2023. That judgement covers early years within the school; it is not a separate nursery rating.

Art follows the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework alongside Development Matters. In practice, the nursery’s art activities involve exploring materials, noticing what happens and talking about the results. Brushes, sticks and sponges provide different ways to make marks. Children move paint across a surface and experiment with mixing colours, giving them concrete changes to observe and describe.

Across the art curriculum, the focus shifts from splatter and drip painting in autumn to drawing simple representations in spring. Pictures help children work out what they want to draw. Summer’s Leaf People work develops control over lines and shapes when representing a person. These are specific tasks with a purpose: experimentation gradually becomes more deliberate drawing.

In June 2023, nursery children played cooperatively, while early years children showed enthusiasm for learning and listened attentively. Learning about the surrounding world also included respect for differences. The inspection identified a consistent phonics approach across early years, delivered effectively by trained staff.

Remembering learning. The same inspection identified a wider teaching concern: in some subjects, important learning needed clearer explanation and more frequent practice before pupils tackled new concepts. This makes reinforcement a useful focus when discussing a child’s learning.

Support sits within the school’s SEND and pastoral arrangements. Parents begin with the class teacher when raising concerns, with the SENDCo providing a further point of contact. Assessments are reconsidered each half term, and parents are informed when SEND support is put in place. That gives families a defined route into discussions about individual needs.

The school’s speech and language interventions include WellComm, Talking Partners and Time to Talk. These are school support options rather than a promise that every nursery child receives an intervention. All classrooms have spaces for children needing emotional support, and a full-time Child Wellbeing Support Officer works with families and staff.

For medical needs, professional care plans are shared with the adults involved. Giving medicines requires parental agreement and a signed consent form, connecting care arrangements with explicit permission.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process.

A conditional priority does apply: Priority 2 covers children attending the school’s nursery who qualify for the early years pupil premium, pupil premium or service premium. Attendance alone does not meet that criterion. Families should consider this distinction before treating a nursery place as an admissions advantage.

Transition support is a separate matter. Children have sessions with their next class teacher and other staff, with extra visits for those needing more time to become familiar with the change.

School-office enquiries can be made on 0151 546 3140 or by emailing croxtethoffice@remat.org.uk. This provides a direct contact for nursery enquiries and discussions about individual support.

Breakfast Club is free for all children and requires booking through the School App. The school also offers charged wraparound care for all children, including a meal, with places booked by telephone through the office. Contact the school for current charges.